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Jacob Kippert runs during indoor conditioning drills last week at a Klahowya football practice. The football team was forced to practice in the gym during the smokey skies that covered Western Washington. Steve Zugschwerdt,

SILVERDALE — Klahowya's football team is putting some air back into its offense. Now it's just a matter of figuring out who'll be piloting the show.

After setting the team rushing record two seasons ago, Klahowya returns a large group of receivers and three possible options at quarterback.

“We want to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands as quickly as possible,” Klahowya coach Dan Ericson said. “We’ll spread it out and have a run/pass option."

The two primary options for the quarterback position are senior John Hartford and junior Chase Templeton. Hartford finished the 2017 season with 830 yards passing, four touchdowns and nine interceptions. Templeton got hurt playing defense early in the season, which cost him time under center.

“Last year, I wanted competition between them,” Ericson said. “But Chase got hurt early. The plan is to play them both in the first three weeks. We need a second guy getting playing time at quarterback. ... Whoever starts will get 75 percent of the snaps. The second guy will get two series.”

Hunter Wallis, a sophomore, also got time at quarterback last season, starting in a 12-7 loss to Charles Wright. He could be an option moving forward, but figures to see most of his playing time at running back and linebacker.

Whoever throws the ball will be targeting a strong group of returning receivers. In fact, whoever doesn’t start at quarterback will likely play wideout, adding to Klahowya's talent on the perimeter.

“In John and Chase, we have quarterbacks who can play wide receiver, and wide receivers who can play quarterback,” Ericson said. “We have versatile, outstanding athletes.”

Klahowya has been known as a passing team under Ericson, so the Eagles will be going back to what worked best for them — with a couple of new wrinkles.

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Here are five storylines for readers to consider heading into the 2018 high school football season.
Jeff Graham, jeffrey.graham@kitsapsun.com

“We’re beginning to play with four receiver sets, spread the football all around,” Ericson said. “We’re going back to our roots. Two years ago, we had a big squad and set the school single-season rushing record. Now, we’re back to where we started. We have lots of wide receivers. We’ll be chucking it around.”

Defensively, Klahowya doesn't boast a ton of big bodies. What the Eagles do have is speed, and they'll need to flock to the football.

“We don’t have size,” Ericson said, “but we do have quickness and tenacity. We’ll have a lot of black shirts around the football. We’ll have an attacking defense that goes to the ball.”

Finishing 3-7 last year playing in the Olympic-Nisqually 1A combo league, Ericson hopes his players take the next step not just on the field, but also in life. During the preseason, he brought in former Washington State University baseball coach Donnie Marbut to help the Eagles.

Marbut’s company, Championship Culture Counseling, aims at players developing more confidence and performing in pressure situations on the field and building more of a winning culture within the program.

“We’ve built a respectable program after seven years,” Ericson said, “and we’ve turned it into a positive environment for young men. We want to take the next step, to do better with the advancement in sports and life.

“You see a lot of us, coaches and players, performing under pressure,” he continued. “This will help is be a little tougher and play tougher.”

5 things to know about the Eagles

1. Gabe Wallis, Hunter's older brother, was named the Kitsap Sun's football player of the year in 2016. He rushed for 1,070 and 19 touchdowns as a running back, and also had 125 tackles at linebacker. The Eagles finished 7-3 that season, matching the 2004 team for the most wins in school history.

As a freshman last season, Hunter Wallis had 73 tackles and one interception on defense for the Eagles.

Dickson can also catch the ball when the other team is throwing it — he ran an interception back 99 yards in Klahowya’s 7-6 win over Port Townsend last season.

3. Klahowya scored only 134 points last season and allowed 230. But the Eagles were competitive — six of their games were decided by eight points or less. Only three games were blowouts: a 45-6 loss to Bremerton, a 62-0 loss to Cascade Christian, and a 34-12 win over Coupeville.

4. The Eagles are the only West Sound team with a bye week.

Klahowya won't play a game on Sept. 28, the result of former Olympic League 1A team Coupeville leaving for the new North Sound Conference.

Coupeville spent four seasons in the Olympic League 1A with Klahowya, Port Townsend and Chimacum.

5. The road to a playoff berth will have to go through Cascade Christian of Puyallup. The Vikings are 20-3 over the past two seasons in the Olympic-Nisqually combo league.

“Until further notice,” Ericson said, “Cascade Christian is the team to beat.”